Editorial Policy

Updated August 2017

Internet Archaeology is an open access, independent, not-for-profit journal.
We seek to publish a broad range of archaeological research.
Works of regional, national and international interest, excavation reports (incorporating text, photographs, data, drawings, reconstruction diagrams, interpretations), analyses of large data sets along with the data itself, visualisations, programs used to analyse data, and applications of information technology are all equally welcome as submissions. Articles in Internet Archaeology are chosen for their quality academic content and for their use of the electronic medium. There are no chronological and geographical restrictions. All content published in the journal is subject to rigorous peer-review (editorial screening followed by anonymous refereeing).
All content is fully archived by the
Archaeology
Data Service.

Please read this Editorial Policy before submitting a proposal. For full details on how to submit a proposal, see our Guidelines for Authors section.

Introduction

Internet Archaeology (IA) is the first fully peer-reviewed electronic journal for archaeology, publishing articles of a high academic standing using the strengths and potential of electronic publication.
IA publishes a broad and international range of archaeological research. Long (monograph-length) and short articles are all welcome and
we will always look for opportunities to present content in ways that can't be done in print. Unless otherwise noted, content in IA is disseminated under a CC-BY 3.0 licence.

Geographical scope

Anywhere. Part of the importance of archaeological research is that it allows us to examine the relationships between the material culture and development of societies separated in time and space. IA therefore has no geographical limits but will accept and actively seek articles from all continents and countries of the world.

Chronological scope

Any time. Archaeology is the study of human interaction with the environment and material culture through time. IA will therefore accept articles covering any time period from the appearance of hominids through to studies of contemporary use of material culture. The chronological scope of the journal is reviewed at regular intervals and the Editor and Advisory Committee take a pro-active role to fill any gaps in coverage by commissioning content.

Subject matter

All archaeological topics. IA will publish articles on a wide range of archaeological research be that excavation and fieldwork reports, artefact and environmental studies, theory and methodology. Interim reports/articles concerning preliminary findings of on-going work are not usually considered.
We particularly encourage the integration of data sets within articles and the linking to related digital archive material and especially welcome content that includes lots of images, databases, 3D models, video and audio.

Peer-review and plagiarism checks

IA is a journal of record and has been at the forefront of raising the quality of archaeological information available on-line since 1996.
IA operates a two stage review process. Articles undergo double-blind peer-review only after editorial screening (including web realisation) at the proposal stage.
Advisory editors assist the Editor in screening and in selecting suitable peer-reviewers.
Reviewers are selected based on their known specialism and experise in the field(s) in question
and in most cases will be selected from outside the journal's Advisory editors. Acceptance for publication is based solely on editorial criteria and not on the author's ability
to pay the APC (article processing charge, see below).

The Editor strives to make the peer-review and editorial process as rapid as possible.
Whilst the time between submission and publication in the journal is well below the level found in many
print journals, we will not do this at the expense of quality. Authors may expect a 2 to 4 month interval
between submission of a first full text draft and its publication. Longer articles (over 20,000 words) and articles with datasets or more complex technical
requirements will naturally take longer to prepare and this should be factored in if other timescales and deadlines
need to be adhered to.

The journal will use anti-plagiarism software to ensure academic integrity. If plagiarism is detected during the peer review process, the manuscript may be rejected.

Open Access

Internet Archaeology believes that open access to archaeological research offers significant academic and social benefits.
Providing free, immediate, online access is the most effective way of ensuring that research can be accessed, read and built upon and
is central to the continuing development of learning and teaching in archaeology. IA provides immediate Open Access to all its content and charges authors (or in most cases,
their research funding bodies, affiliated institutions or other supporters) for the article development costs (APCs).

Publication fees (APCs)

Being transparent in our costs is of the utmost importance. Our publication fees (APCs) vary by article because of the range and size of digital content we can support. Thus fees are calculated on an individual basis following discussions at the proposal stage, when the requirements/expectations of the article have been established. In essence, costs are based on a combination of word count, technical requirements and digital archiving costs. Fees consists of staff costs for editing, mark-up, copy-editing (by a specialist archaeological copy-editor), graphics and any other technical requirements, all associated management costs, and full archival/preservation costs (with ADS as part of IA's own preservation and archiving procedures). VAT is applicable at the current rate.

For the purposes of illustration only, an average article (5000 words, 15 images, interactive elements such as a video/audio file or interactive map) will cost c.£1800 (plus VAT). Fees are payable only after a successful referee stage.

The decision to accept for publication in Internet Archaeology is independent of ability to pay. We may be able to offer a discount or full waiver to authors who do not have access to funds, including authors from developing countries. If this applies to you, you should also fill out an application to our Open Access Archaeology fund and indicate you plan to do so in your proposal (please note that your application to this fund will only be considered if you have a draft ready to submit). Waivers will be considered on a case-by-case basis but are likely to be limited.

Where to seek funding

IA strongly encourages authors to seek funds to cover article development/production costs from their grant-giving/funding bodies, library/campus funds, host department or other research sponsors wherever possible.
Many institutions have central funds specifically allocated to pay for Open Access publication and you should contact your library about their availability.
Note that charges associated with monograph publication including data publication can currently still be included in UK Research Council funding bids.
In any case, it is advisable that authors contact us and submit an article proposal at the earliest possible stage so that article costs can be calculated for inclusion in grant applications and options discussed.

Updates

We welcome subsequent addenda or 'new editions' of research published in the journal which can easily be linked to the original piece of work (and vice versa). Authors are requested to contact the journal about their update requirements.

Language of publication

Provided that a suitably-qualified referee and sub-editor can be found, IA will publish articles in any language capable of being transmitted over the internet. A summary should, however, be provided in English, French, German, Italian or Spanish.

Length

Unlike most other journals, Internet Archaeology does not impose any length restrictions on content and will take articles of any length provided that this is clearly justified by the content.

Archive provision

The journal is hosted on a series of servers at the University of York which are routinely backed-up on and off-site and which are shared with the Archaeology Data Service, the national digital archive for archaeology (also based at the University).
The final published version of an article and all its associated elements are catalogued and deposited with the Archaeology Data Service, the cost of which is covered by the APC you pay.
View their current ADS Preservation Policy.
The ADS follows the Open Archival Information System (OAIS) reference model.

Relationship with digital data archives/archiving related data

One of the unique features of IA is the ability to integrate data within the article narrative. However where
related additional digital material (not necessarily part of the publication) exists, IA expects that such supporting data
is deposited in an appropriate public digital archive or repository, such as the Archaeology Data Service or author's own institutional
repository. Internet Archaeology works especially closely with the ADS.

Authors should note that digital archives may have their own deposit procedures and charges, which will be completely separate from any such negotiations with IA. Where links to such additional archived data from an IA article are desirable, authors do need to consider the impact such requirements may have on timing and planning of their article.

Relationship with printed publications

IA has no desire to compete with paper-based publications and recognises that books and journals are still for many easier to read, more portable and easier to curate than electronic publications. The advantages of electronic publication are that there is less restriction on size for its own sake, more possibilities for indexing and retrieval than in a paper publication and almost instantaneous cross-referencing from one document to another. IA will consider publishing expanded and cross-referenced versions of printed works and we are keen to encourage collaboration with other publishers, following the recommendations in the PUNS report.

Reviews/Commentary section

IA will review works published in an electronic format (including e-books, apps, web resources, software etc.). Electronic counterparts to print publications are also considered. Our policy is generally not to review books or anything that is solely published in print, but exceptions can be made e.g. where the printed publication concerns archaeological computing. We are also interested in state-of-the-art opinion/commentary pieces.

Internet Archaeology is an open access journal. Except where otherwise noted, content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 (CC BY) Unported licence, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided that attribution to the author(s), the title of the work, the Internet Archaeology journal and the relevant URL/DOI are given.